0 Conde, 
aC least 1, 
BCAUsp hy 
Tressed be 
1 mpostyy 
DES cha 
IEmphygy; 
actor 
an he po 
“abled hip 
never bs 
ances 
“mbes gf 
1 nlessed 
3 direction 
neat bs 
5 of the 
1 DeCan 
+ and i 
of his In 
Wt doth 
< pik 
hit oe 
Wen Sur 
n Tnstine 
re excel 
Jomestt 
 disiie 
['s man 
as eal 
A oul 
incr 
Kaspar Hauser. 
03 
that affair ; and although he did not really venture to use personal 
violence when he was angry, he yet showed such a bitterness of 
hatred that Kaspar felt an instinctive distrust of the honesty of 
his guardianship. There were many disagreeable scenes between 
them, and even Meyer was obliged to own that Kaspar had some 
ground for complaint, and that Hickel did not observe proper 
prudence in his behaviour. Kaspar often declared that he would 
not submit to such tyranny much longer, and on one occasion he 
exclaimed : “I would rather die than go on in this way!” where- 
upon Hickel replied, tauntingly: * You can die if you want to, 
and then everybody can read on your gravestone, ‘ Here lies 
Kaspar, the impostor.” ” 
Hickel was constantly threatening to tell Lord Stanhope of 
every act of rebellion on Kaspar’s part, and Kaspar retorted that 
he should tell Lord Stanhope /4s side of the story. Finally mat- 
ters reached such a pass that Hickel appealed to Herr von Feuer- 
bach, and Kaspar went to him also with a counter complaint. 
Feuerbach saw each party separately, and Kaspar made no 
secret of the grievances he had endured in silence so long. Ac- 
cording to Hickel’s account, Feuerbach was shocked and dis- 
gusted at Kaspar’s violence, and expressed himself in strong terms 
to Hickel and Meyer, calling Kaspar ““a serpent,” “a devil,” 
etc, and saying, in reference to his own early description of the 
boy’s angelic disposition : “ People will say that Feuerbach was 
writing a romance in his old age !” 
This account rests solely upon the testimony of Meyer and 
Hickel, and they differ in their statements. Feuerbach was at 
that time a nervous invalid, and he may have been prejudiced for 
the moment against Kaspar. But his whole conduct shows that 
he took a sincere interest in the boy’s welfare, and never ceased 
to work for the elucidation of the mystery of the foundling’s 
origin. On this occasion he persuaded Hickel to continue in his 
position as Kaspar’s chief guardian, and the difficulty was for the 
‘ime arranged. 
It is probable that Stanhope kept up his correspondence with 
Hickel, unknown to Kaspar, and even to Meyer; for in the